General Liability vs Professional Liability: What’s the Difference?
General liability covers physical injury and property damage. Professional liability covers mistakes in your work or advice. Most service businesses need both.
General liability covers physical harm — bodily injury and property damage. Professional liability (also called Errors & Omissions or E&O) covers financial harm from a mistake, oversight, or bad advice in your professional work. They protect against completely different risks, and most service businesses need both.
What General Liability Covers
- A customer slips and falls in your shop
- You damage a client’s property while on the job
- A third party sues you for bodily injury or property damage
What Professional Liability (E&O) Covers
- A client claims your advice cost them money
- A missed deadline or error in your work causes a financial loss
- A claim of negligence, misrepresentation, or failure to deliver a professional service
Which One Do You Need?
If customers visit your location or you work on their property, you need general liability. If clients rely on your expertise, advice, or professional service — consultants, accountants, agents, IT firms, designers — you also need professional liability. Contractors usually lead with general liability; advice-based businesses lead with E&O.
Can You Bundle Them?
Yes. Many small businesses carry general liability inside a Business Owner’s Policy and add professional liability alongside it, often with one carrier and one renewal date.